emingly a miracle Gawain remains true to his chivalric principles.Gawain then rides up to the gate and asks for lodgings for this eve of Christ's birth. This simple scene shows how the pentangle can have true balance. As Hollis says, "Gawain prays for a solution to his current predicament, and upon finding a solution he procures his lodgings through courtly requests. Finally, he properly thanks Jesus for his 'good' fortune." As a result of Gawain's virtue he gains entrance into the castle. However, his entrance into the castle is for reasons that he is unaware of at the time. From the instant Gawain sets foot inside the castle his downfall is inevitable. Jones 3It is in this castle that Gawain's competing values are put to the test. Up until now Gawain has been fitted in his armor and shield, but at the castle he finds that there is no longer a need for his armor. Sir Gawain is now stripped of his symbolic identity by the removal of both shield and gear. In its place he wears mundane clothing. This is the first step toward the disruption of the balance of values that the pentangle represents. It is these clothes he wears when the lady of the castle tempts him during the three mornings.Sir Gawain sees the lady as extremely sensuous. This is not characteristic of "the way one views the wife of a lord who is giving you safe harbor for the next several nights, especially if one is renowned as the Virgin Mary's knight." (Hieatt) Describing someone's wife as toothsome to your desires is bound to create some kind of trouble. This change in Sir Gawain is from the lowering of his shield. The lady then tests Sir Gawain when her husband is off on the hunt.At first Sir Gawain attempts to hold on to the virtuous ideas if the pentangle. He refuses the persistent lady's advances during the three mornings, despite his moment of lusty thoughts from the night before. The Gawain-poet goes into great detail describing the psychology of the scene...
